Reasonable adjustments for students with disabilities or chronic illnesses

As a student with study-related disabilities or chronic illnesses, you have a legally established right to reasonable adjustments (NTA). This may include adjustments for:

• Mobility or sensory impairments
• Chronic illnesses (e.g. multiple sclerosis, cancer)
• Mental health conditions (e.g. depression, bipolar disorders)
• Specific learning difficulties (e.g. dyslexia, dyscalculia)
• Asperger's syndrome or attention deficit disorder

Reasonable adjustments:

• Are granted on an individual basis
• Modify the conditions, not the academic requirements
• Aim to provide equal opportunities for students with disabilities or chronic illnesses, ensuring the same chances of success as for non-disabled students.

The goal of these reasonable adjustmentss is to provide equal opportunities, ensuring you can focus on your studies and take exams under fair conditions.

1. You register for a consultation with us and send us your medical certificate. As a rule, the medical certificate must not be older than one year. For a current certificate, your doctor can use our certificate template (DOCX, 60 KB).
   If you have a reading and writing disorder, we require a neurodiagnostic assessment report or a detailed letter from a speech therapy professional.
2. We will have a personal and confidential consultation with you to discuss your individual needs, review your medical documents, and inform you about useful services and resources available at the University of Zurich.
3. During the consultation, we will create a meeting record and provide our recommendations for reasonable adjustments (ENTA form). These documents will be sent to you after the meeting, provided we have a medical certificate that meets our criteria.
   Generally, these documents remain valid until the end of your degree programme.
4. You must submit the application for reasonable adjustments to your faculty by the deadline. If you're taking modules at multiple faculties, separate applications are required. Deadlines and contacts for each faculty can be found on: NTA - Fristen & Kontakt pro Fakultät
   Please note: You must submit the application to the faculty every semester.
5. The faculty will review your application and may contact the Study and Disability Office for further clarification if necessary.
6. The faculty will decide on the reasonable adjustments to be implemented and inform you with a formal decision. This process typically takes 3 to 6 weeks. You have the right to appeal the faculty's decision. Additionally, the faculty will notify the relevant persons responsible for implementing the adjustments.
7. The responsible individuals in the institutes or modules will take the necessary steps to implement the approved adjustments.

The NTA process, from initial contact to the implementation of adjustments, takes time. Therefore, we recommend registering with us as early as possible.

Specialist medical certificate

A specialist medical certificate (or the completed UZH certificate template) that:

• confirms a diagnosed disability or chronic illness (according to ICD-10 or DSM IV)
• describes the study-related difficulties
• is not older than one year
• is dated and signed by the specialist (medical specialist or medical-therapeutic centre)
• contains the diagnosis, course, developmental tendency and any treatment measures
• contains possible reasonable adjustments for compensation for disadvantages (in the sense of recommendations)

In the case of reading and spelling difficulties: A neuropsychological or speech therapy assessment report (max. 3 years old) specifying limitations in areas like spelling, grammar, reading and writing speed, and comprehension.

Optional: Evidence of previous adjustments if they were deemed helpful.

Application to the faculty

For the Faculty of Arts and Humanities, you must complete an online application form. For all other faculties, you must submit the application using this form:

Application form NTA for the Faculty (DOCX, 59 KB) (DOCX, 58 KB)

Be sure to observe the different application deadlines for each faculty. If you're taking modules at multiple faculties, you need to submit separate applications.

Meeting record and ENTA form

The meeting record and ENTA form are created together during the consultation. These documents will be provided to you after the meeting, provided we have your medical certificate.

Please note: You must sign the meeting minutes before submitting them. The ENTA form is valid without a signature.

Use our booking tool für booking an appointment with us.

For follow-up consultations, please contact the staff member responsible for your case directly via email. If the person no longer works at the office and you're unsure who to contact, please email fsb@sib.uzh.ch.